Portable service tray



Om. 8, 1935. M. H. NUSSBAUM 2,016,970

PORTABLE SERVICE TRAY Filed May 15, 1953 Patented Oct. 8, 1935 o t 9 2,016,970

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,016,970 V p 7 PORTABLE SERVICE TRAY Melvin H. Nussbaum, Bainbridge, Ga. 1 Application May 13, losaiseriel No. 670,979

1 Claim. (01; 311-22) 7 i This invention relates to portable service trays; wardly at right angles to aiford a supporting leg and, more particularly, one designed to be used I0, while the other end of each of the supports 9 either on the inside or outside of a vehicle winis bent downwardly at H to form a spring arm dow. I2, the end of which is bent at-right angles to The principal object is to provide atray which afford a clamping leg I3. An intermediate leg 5 may be supported by the vehicle window either I4 is placed on each support 9 and fixedly secured on the inside or outside without in any way inthereto. Afilxed by rivets or other suitable means terfering with the raising or lowering of the same. to the underface of the tray 8, near the middle With the advent of curb service service trays portion of one side thereof, is a U-shaped angle 10 adapted to be rested on the sill of the vehicle on bracket I5, the two projecting arms I6 and I1 10 which drinks and food can be placed have come of which are positioned opposite one another in into general use. The simplest form of such tray spaced relation and support a pin I8. Pivotally consists in supports or legs spaced apart so as mounted on said pin I8 is an adjustable supportto straddle the sill. The tray rests on the sill, ing arm I9, the pivoted end of which is formed and, of course, prevents the window from being with a cam face 20, by bending that portion of the 15 raised or lowered. Such trays are objectionable arm I9 which projects beyond the pin I8, and the in that the diameter of the sill varies and often other end having a rubber cup presents an uneven surface so that drinks are Slidably mounted in a bracket 2I is a bar 22 p l n the y, damaging he o d and m khaving one end upturned to form a handle 23, and 20 in an un ht y appearance. u h r. u h anthe other end 24 bent at 24' in a downward di- 20 struction makes it impossible to raise the window re tion beneath the cam 20 with an upturned in case of inclement weather. portion 25 adapted to ride on the base portion 28 Another object is to provide means for securing f th U-shaped angle bracket I5. h t ay in position q y a at the sam im As actually used, the tray with its contents will 25 to c p e for a Variance in thickness d be placed over one of the sills 6, the leg I3 being 25 diam te o t Sill, and further, to provide means inserted between the sill and the window I, the Correcting the Slant tilt of the y, the p tray assuming a level position, after which the at s means to be on or above the r o ta bar 22 is pulled outwardly through the bracket 2| plane of the tray and readily accessible from the by way of handle 23. Since the portion 24 is 30 exterior of the automobile or other vehicle. wedge shaped, and bears against the cam face 20, 30

Still anoth j t s to p v a t y a ap the arm l9 will be forced against the side of the ed to be used r e h an p Of Closed car and locked in position, said arm I9 acting as hicle. a brace or support. Since the arm I9 is pivotal- Other objects will be disclosed in the specifica- 1y mounted on the pin I8, it will normally assume tion and drawing forming a part of this applicaa perpendicular position, as shown in dotted lines 35 tion. in Figure 3, and will be out of the way during In the drawing: the securing process until the handle 23 is op- Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective of an aut d,

tomobile, showing the ray; It is obvious that the clamping leg I3 may be 40 Figure 2 is a fragmen a y detail of the inserted over the other sill 6 and the tray placed 40 P011? and kicking means removed from the tray; on the inside of the car when desired, which per- Figllre 3 is Side elevation of the Service tray mits the window to be raised if desired; or the showing a fragmentary sectional portion of the clamping leg '3 may be placed, over both 5111s, or

vehicle on which the tray is Supported; and in the case of an open car, over the door and ar- Figur? 4 is an enlargeddetan of the pivoted ranged either inside or outside of the car. The 45 support legs I0 and I4 have no particular function other Refe to the drawmg m whlch l parts than in packing the trays for shipment they are designatedbY like numerals: space the same apart and permit one tray to be 5 desi nates a motor vehicle of the 5o gg igg havingg window sills 6, with sliding plied upon the other, and should t be desired to windows 1 A tray 3 constructed of metal or any place the tray on the counter while the order is filled the same will be level.

other suitable material, and having rigidly sebemg l cured in parallel spaced relation transversely From the foregolngdescrlptlon, t is obvious across the underface thereof a pair of metal supthat a very simple efliclent construction has been ports 9, one end of each of which is bent downproduced, wherein the operator need not place 55 his hands inside of the vehicle except to place the tray in position, the locking handle being readily accessible and above the edge of the tray. Furthermore, only one hand is required to lock the tray in position. In other devices where the locking feature is beneath the tray, the operator must place the tray in position, steady the same with one hand and reach beneath the tray to locate the locking mechanism with the result that.

the contents of the tray is often spilled, or the tray is locked at an angle as the eyes of the operator must be taken from the tray.

It must be understood that the invention is not. j? limited to the precise details or construction shown in the drawing, as many ofthe elements may be varied in shape or replaced by other elements performing the same'or similar func tion, without departing from the spirit-ofthe invention, the, scope of which is definedw in. the claim appended hereto.

What I claim is:

A vehicle service device comprising a tray, parallel spaced supports on the underside of said tray and extending beyond one of the edges thereof, said supports having a clamping leg at the end extending beyond the edge of said tray, a U-' shaped bracket secured to the underside of said 7 tray intermediate said supports, a supporting arm pivotally mounted in said bracket and having a' cam. face formed at one end adjacentsaid pivotal point, the other end having; a cup adapted to contact with a vehicle wall, a flat bracket seeured adjacent the U-shaped bracket, a locking barslidably mounted in said fiat bracket and having a wedge-shaped end with one face parallel to. the base-of the U-shaped bracket, the other faceadapted to contact with the cam face of the support "tapered inwardly, the outer end of said i locking bar turned upwardly to form a handle.

MELVIN H. NUSSBAUM. 

